This photo combination shows the 10 highest-paid CEOs of 2013, as calculated by The Associated Press and Equilar, an executive pay research firm. Top row, from left: Anthony Petrello, Nabors Industries, $68.2 million; Leslie Moonves, CBS, $65.6 million; Richard Adkerson, Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold, $55.3 million; Stephen Kaufer, TripAdvisor, $39 million; and Philippe Dauman, Viacom, $37.2 million. Bottom row, from left: Leonard Schleifer, Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, $36.3 million; Robert Iger, Walt Disney, $34.3 million; David Zaslav, Discovery Communications, $33.3 million; Jeffrey Bewkes, Time Warner, $32.5 million; and Brian Roberts, Comcast, $31.4 million.NEW YORK – They’re the $10 million men and women.
Propelled by a soaring stock market, the median pay package for a CEO rose above eight figures for the first time last year. The head of a typical large public company earned a record $10.5 million, an increase of 8.8 percent from $9.6 million in 2012, according to an Associated Press/Equilar pay study.
Last year was the fourth straight that CEO compensation rose following a decline during the Great Recession. The median CEO pay package climbed more than 50 percent over that stretch. A chief executive now makes about 257 times the average worker’s salary, up sharply from 181 times in 2009.
The best paid CEO last year led an oilfield-services company. The highest paid female CEO was Carol Meyrowitz of discount retail giant TJX, owner of TJ Maxx and Marshall’s. And the head of Monster Beverage got a monster of a raise.
Over the last several years, companies’ boards of directors have tweaked executive compensation to answer critics’ calls for CEO pay to be more attuned to performance. They’ve cut back on stock options and cash bonuses, which were criticized for rewarding executives even when a company did poorly. Boards of directors have placed more emphasis on paying CEOs in stock instead of cash and stock options.